Iran is reportedly jamming ship GPS navigation systems to get them to wander into Iranian waters

Ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian
Gulf have been experiencing GPS interference and various other
problems that US officials suspect is the work of the Iranians,
CNN reported Wednesday.

According to US Central Command and the Department of
Transportation's Maritime Administration, ships have reported GPS
interference, bridge-to-bridge communications spoofing, and
jamming, among other problems.

A US defense official told CNN that the Iranians had jammers
aimed at disrupting the GPS navigation systems on ships and
aircraft so that they might wander into Iranian waters or
airspace, justifying a seizure.

Ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf
have reported unusual GPS interference, among other problems, and
the US believes Iran is to blame.

The Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration
issued a warning on Wednesday about threats to commercial
vessels posed by Iran, saying that ships operating in the region
could have a variety of issues, including "spoofed
bridge-to-bridge communications from unknown entities falsely
claiming to be US or coalition warships."

At least two incidents were said to involve GPS interference, it
said.

"Due to the heightened regional tensions, the potential for
miscalculation or misidentification could lead to aggressive
actions against vessels belonging to US, allied, and coalition
partners operating in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and
Gulf of Oman," US Central Command, which oversees American
military operations in the Middle East, said in an emailed
statement.

It added that ships had reported experiencing "GPS interference,
bridge-to-bridge communications spoofing, and/or other
communications jamming with little to no warning."

In some cases,
a US defense official told CNN, Iranian navy and Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels have spoofed merchant ships'
automatic identification system to make themselves look like
commercial shipping vessels.

The official said Iran had GPS jammers operating on Abu Musa
Island, in the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz, apparently
to cause ships and aircraft to inadvertently wander into Iranian
waters or airspace, thus justifying a seizure.

Following a string of what the US has
characterized as limpet-mine attacks on commercial shipping
vessels by Iran, Iranian forces began seizing tankers. After
British forces seized an Iranian tanker believed to be in
violation of European Union sanctions, the Iranians
tried to capture the BP oil tanker British Heritage.

In the wake of these incidents, the US has worked to establish a
coalition to safeguard commercial shipping in the hotbed region.
The British defense ministry has already
committed the Royal Navy to this mission.

The US has significant assets in the region, including ships and
aircraft that were deployed in recent months to counter Iranian
threats, and the British frigate HMS Montrose and destroyer HMS
Duncan are already defending ships in the area.

"The US remains committed to working with allies and regional
partners to safeguard the freedom of navigation, the free flow of
commerce, and the protection of US vessels and personnel in this
region," CENTCOM said.